The Annual Round Square International Conference

Published by Abbotsholme School on Wednesday 28th of September 2022

The annual Round Square International Conference 2022 took place last week at Oxford University and at six UK schools, AKS Lytham, Latymer Upper School, Ryde with Upper Chine School, Cobham Hall, Box Hill and Felsted.

Abbotsholme School is a Round Square school and we are extremely excited that we have been able to be part of this amazing event that is the Conference. Round Square schools share a commitment to character education and experiential learning built around six themes - our IDEALS - Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service.

This was an opportunity for delegates from around 200 schools worldwide to come together and the first in person international conference since 2019. The Conference was opened by the Abbotsholme Performing Arts students.

The performance was excellent and set the tone for a conference. In Oxford the delegation of 6 sixth formers stayed at Queen’s College and enjoyed listening to a variety of Keynote speakers including Sir Dieter Helm and Ben Fogle.

After each speaker, pupils joined their baraza groups to discuss the themes. In Oxford we enjoyed a Discovery Trail, a Ceilidh in Oxford town hall and a Cultural Evening in which some delegates showcased songs, music and dance from their countries.

We then travelled to Box Hill School in Surrey and immediately travelled to the West End of London to enjoy Mary Poppins. Whilst at Box Hill we visited Marwell Zoo, which dedicates its energies to animal conservation and enjoyed team building and adventure activities at Henfold Lakes and a hike up Box Hill itself.

The conference offered an amazing opportunity for our students to build new friendships and consider their own personal impact on the environment, through the conference theme: Take Less: Be more.